Sunday, January 10, 2010

Ribs: Part 3

All righty, now we're ready to cook the ribs!Cooking is a 3 stage process.

First is LOW AND SLOW.

I pour one bottle of beer over the ribs, first meat side up, then inside up.I like a hoppy beer, you want to pull the flavor of the hops and malt into the beer. Go for an I.P.A., or something from East Europe.You want to pour it slowly, just so it adds a little flavor, you don't want to wash off the rub!Leave the ribs bone side/inside of the rib up, so that each rib holds a little pool of beer.

Next to the bottom of the pan I add about 1/2 cup of orange juice, a cup of water and a teaspoon of liquid smoke.This mixture keeps the ribs moist and sweet, by steaming the ribs. Steaming means we won't need to turn them as often, or baste until the very end.

Oh, it's important to note that the ribs aren't on the bottom of the pan, it's hard to see, but I crumple up enough aluminum foil, so the ribs are 1 to 1-1/2 inches from the bottom of the pan.

Finally, tent the ribs, to keep the moist goodness in.Here are the ribs, ready to go in!

Like I said, LOW and SLOW.265 degrees for 6-8 hours for this phase, with a total of 8-10 hours.Flipping the ribs over after 3-4 hours, then every hour and a half or so.